Recent UD graduates Suzanne Gibson, Marsha Pohl, David Starkey, Jacqueline Sheppard and Jill Hickman all found great jobs after graduation because they were in the right place at the right time. These 1997 UD graduates put themselves squarely in the path of opportunity by taking advantage of the programs offered by the Career Services Center.
Suzanne Gibson, a marketing and international business major, accepted a position at Perrier Group America after interviewing with nearly 20 companies through the Campus Interview Program. "I started interviewing early in my senior year and wound up with six offers," Gibson says. She returned to Career Services recently to recruit this year's graduating seniors for jobs with her organization.
With more than 400 organizations visiting campus to conduct interviews, there are still some who are not able to send recruiters to campus. In January, Marsha Pohl, a computer science major, interviewed with DSC Communications, Plano, Texas, using VIEWnet, a video conferencing system, recently purchased by the Career Services Center. "When companies can't come in person to Career Services, we bring the student to them through technology," says David Berilla, associate director at Career Services. Pohl was offered and accepted a position, based on her video interview.
Communication major Jacqueline Sheppard submitted a copy of her resume to the Career Services Center's Resume Referral Service. It was optically scanned and sent to hundreds of local, regional and national organizations who could not come to recruit on campus. College Directory Publishing, Inc. singled out Sheppard's resume and called her in for an interview. "The rest is history," says Sheppard. "I now sell advertising for college student directories and am really happy with my job. Students are missing a good bet if they don't go to Career Services early and take advantage of all of their services."
Project Search, a campus job fair for teachers, provided the contacts for Jill Hickman, an elementary/special education major, to land her third-grade teaching position at Kennett Consolidated School District. Hickman also made use of the Career Center's Credential Service to store and send her letters of reference to interested employers.
David Starkey, a history and political science major, first heard about the management training program at Enterprise Rent-A-Car at the Job Jamboree fair in the fall of his senior year. He later followed up with the interviews through the Campus Interview Program. "Even though I didn't have a business major, I found that there were lots of companies who were impressed with my liberal arts background," says Starkey. Starkey polished his interviewing skills by participating in an interview preparation workshop and signing up for a mock interview to build his skills.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that the class of 1998 can expect a more vigorous economy and higher starting salaries than the previous class. Company expansion, improved corporate outlooks, a diversified market and labor shortages are creating an increased demand for new grads along with a 4.61 percent average increase in entry-level salaries.
Liberal arts graduates can expect to earn an average starting salary of $28,875. Average starting salary for computer science majors is $38,475. Marketing/sales graduates will start at approximately $29,012. The highest average salary, $44,557, will be paid to chemical engineering graduates, according to Recruiting Trends, 1997-98 by L. Patrick Scheetz. Additional information on salary ranges for new graduates is available in the Career Resource Center at the Career Services Center in Raub Hall.
Whether students need help with identifying their skills, whipping a resume into shape, prepping for an interview, researching a company or identifying job leads, the Career Services Center is ready, willing and able to help. The staff at Career Services doesn't place students in a job, but will give them the tools, advice and information needed to conduct a successful job search.